Brie Larson

A striking young actress gifted well beyond her years, Brie Larson cut her professional teeth with television roles on shows like "Raising Dad" (The WB, 2001-02) and "Right on Track" (Disney Channel,...
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S03E11: The penultimate episode of United States of Tara really brings out the big guns. Questions that needed to be asked years ago are finally asked. Relationships are laid out plain as day. And as Tara has really shown this year, the show knows how to end an episode.
We start off with a look into the relatively normal lives they’re now leading. Marshall is now living with his grandmother, Char lounges with Neil, Kate is making eggs for Evan and the spawn of Satan. Only Max seems to be frustrated as he walks past Bryce’s room (formally Marshall’s). It’s a calm, brief, respite of peace and since Tara is on Showtime we know it can’t last. And how does it get kicked off? With Buck making an appearance. He’s calling this the Nam of the brain and Bryce is hunting them down one by one. It’s a scary concept, especially since these are characters we’ve been with the entire show. So, Max takes Buck’s guns over to Neil and Char’s and the show gets pretty crafty going from talking about blood and guts on the wall to using old chests for coffee tables and missing ferrets. Char asks the question on everyone’s mind, “why don’t we have her committed?” but Max reassures them that a) Tara will be back and barring that b) he’ll figure everything out. This makes up pretty much half of the themes for the episode: Max’s unyielding faith in Tara and himself to fix everything themselves.
“Still Bryce?” - Marshall
“Still chugging cock?” - Bryce
To further complicate the character, we can make assumptions about Tara’s feelings towards her family from how the alters “died.” Buck came to Max, T went to Kate, and Alice went to Marshall. The relationship between T and Kate seems to suggest a more friendly sister/sister vibe than anything. And if T is jealous of Kate that means Tara really admires her daughter. Marshall really needs a mother (or at least a normal parental figure) after Lionel’s death so Alice steps in to say that true love never really leaves your heart. It’s really sad to see these alters go, especially since these are the ones that we have been with since the beginning but it is sweet to see Tara’s true feeling emerge. Marshall needed a mom, Kate needed a sister, Max needed a friend, so she altered into all those for them. What Hatteras said earlier is true, but Tara just can’t see it. She's not actually seven different people. She is being everything to her family, she just can’t recognize it. That’s probably the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen a comedy achieve.
But Bryce (being the embodiment of both the DID and Tara’s id) wants to set Max and her free. The biggest thing he during all this is that “Tara doesn’t deserve you.” That’s the root of her problem. Tara sees herself as undeserving of her family and lets the DID take control of her. Again, it’s heartbreaking.
Tara finally comes out after Marshall tackles Bryce interrupting Alice with an assassination. Striking her kid is the final straw (as it should be), so Max is taking her to an institution. On the ride over he reassures Tara that he isn’t going anywhere, which seems to suggest that he listened to his mother. But then she makes him stop and jumps off the bridge. Holy shit, Tara knows how to end an episode.
This was a fantastic episode. The themes were laid out on the table and investigated, the humor was jarring as usual amongst all the heartbreak and the ending was one of the best of the season. It’s such a shame watching an episode like this knowing that the end approaches but at the same time I’d rather see the show go out strong rather than peter out. And who knows how the hell they are going to come back from Tara jumping off a bridge?

S03E10: Oh, United States of Tara. I know this isn’t the case and they created this episodes months ago before the news of their cancellation, but it seems like this week’s episode was a direct response to the news a few weeks ago, because everyone starts abandoning the U.S.S. Tara. Well, almost everyone. But a captain never abandons his ship and we’ll get into that later.
Anyway, there were two catalysts for the episode. First was the news of Bryce and the implications of his existence. The second was Lionel's death. Combine the two of them and well, I’m still not exactly sure how we can call this show a comedy after that.
First, let’s start with the central character most removed from the rest: Charmaine. While still a part of the family, she's removed from the general destruction that was unfolding with the rest of the Gregsons. Neil finally returned and while it was really sweet to watch Patton Oswalt hold the baby and be really sweet, it was really funny hearing Char talking about getting some dick (and a little strange to learn that she lost her virginity at 11 to a dude with a hairlip, but I guess it has to be a comedy somehow). The two new parents finally find out about Bryce playing games with Wheels and taking her on the bus, and as Patton tweeted, he fucking lost it. This was the first of the bailouts. Neil finally gets through to Char that he is her family now, he has a responsibility to her and his daughter to ensure their safety and if that means removing themselves from her dangerous sister, so be it. Char eventually sees that she can’t take of Tara if it means potentially taking her away from Wheels. And we all gotta love it when the man of the house finally takes charge, woo!
"And does super casual mean we're khakis or jean shorts?" - Evan
But right as he was about to jump, the captain of the ship ran up to deck to ask for his help: Max. Poor, poor, poor Max. Everyone else had the ability to leave and took the opportunity to do so. But Max? Max can’t leave. Whether it's due to social responsibility or love (Max will always say love), Max has to stay and help Tara. He finally realized that he was in over his head when he finds out that Hatteras gave up Tara as a client and when Bryce was going crazy he asked Marshall for help with this “river of shit.” And then Max finally sees that the rest of his family can’t deal with Tara any more and it’s up to him. And him alone. In that moment, he recognized his duty and he could’ve buckled under that pressure, but he didn’t. You have to respect a man like that. Max is very strong and if he can keep Tara from killing herself or someone else there may just be hope for her yet.
Unfortunately, a ship isn’t able to jump itself; it has to weather the storm: Tara. Tara had the right idea this week: snort the pills. Bryce can’t barf up something that’s gone up the snot tube and it works. Unfortunately it puts her in a high state and that’s only slightly better than Bryce because she’s not destroying anything. But it stops her from being there for her family when they need her. Ah, choices. Comatose or a destructive adolescent? She attempts to stay sober and Tara for a little bit for Marshall when he’s at his lowest, but that choice has disastrous consequences. Because she didn’t take the medication (or immediately after?) Bryce was able to escape. When the family is off to Lionel’s (flamboyant) funeral Bryce goes off in Marshall’s room and trashes the place. So, it’s not enough for Bryce to destroy Tara’s inner self, he starts taking it out on her family and he starts with the most vulnerable. What a dick.
And since we have two episodes left to go, Bryce asserts himself out saying that he’s going to be around for a while. He takes a pair of scissors to Tara’s hair and boom - we’ve got a crisis on deck. With everyone seemingly leaving, the final two episodes will probably focus more on how Tara tries to handle Bryce and the implications of his appearance. Like the title of the episode suggests, this was a train wreck and like a train wreck you really can’t look away (and yes, I realized I used shipping metaphors throughout. Artistic license, FTW) even if you have to wait to weeks to watch the destruction.

S03E09: Well, this is grim. After yesterday’s less than stellar news about the fate of United States of Tara, each new episode comes with the rather bittersweet reminder in the back of our minds that this is the end. Each new episode brings us one step closer to the finale that, rather than being a cliffhanger that we’re expecting, is the actual no-more-after-this series finale. It sucks doesn’t it? Especially considering the whole season has been completed for months with the hope that they would be coming back. So, it’s definitely not going to end on a conclusive final moment. Fantastic.
Oh well though. No use crying over spilled mimosas. We have three really great seasons of Tara, which is more than a lot of other great shows had, so let's count our blessings while we can. Everyone involved with the show is extremely talented and will work again; we’ll see them soon. Besides, we still have three episodes left and if this episode is any indication, things are about to get weird. How excellent is that? Not as excellent as a fourth season but DAMMIT I’M TRYING TO REMAIN POSITIVE.
"Same film, over and over again. Minimal plotting, funereal pacing. Hardly American stuff." - Hataras
I’ll gloss over Kate and Char’s story if only because the rest of the family had so much more an interesting time this week. Char discovered that you can drink and take care of a baby at the park. Good for her. Kate realized that dating a father is kind of hellish when the kid is the spawn of Satan. Good for her. Not saying they weren’t important but Marshall and Max’s story was so much more interesting!
So, Marshall and Max finally get to New York for the film festival and Max finally sees Marshall’s film. It turns out, the film is mostly about him and Max finally sees what Marshall thinks of him. Finally. Now I’d like to imagine the whole film and Max’s reaction to it is a meta-metaphor for Max’s portrayal on the show. Marshall tried to boil down the extremely complex psyche of his father into a short film. Considering how weird this family is, you can’t do that and Max takes offense to it. What he said about how there were so many unspoken moments that weren’t captured that fleshed out his reasons really spoke to the character of the show. For those who might have criticized/questioned Max in the past (like Marshall did earlier this season), we’re watching a TV. We get to see the most interesting 30 minutes of these character’s lives but in their world they have full weeks to live their lives. If these characters are real (which the best television creates real characters that exist even when we’re not watching) they have lives beyond what we see. And those are the moments that keep Max around. Whether you agree with that sentiment is up to you. I think the show is well-written enough that I can believe Max sticking with Tara and that there’s more to them than we’re shown. Marshall and Max’s stories have been suffering lately, but I really think that scene on the sidewalk made up for it. This is a female-centric show, but there is a strong male presence as well that finally got to voice its frustrations. It worked quite well for me.
So that’s that. Three more episodes to go and then bye-bye Tara. I feel a little bit like a dead man walking. I can see the end and no that it couldn’t possibly answer or fulfill all my questions. But oh well, it’s just a TV show. A damn good one though and we’re sorry to see it go.

Well, this is a bummer. Showtime just canceled United States of Tara and will air all the remaining episodes for the rest of the season through June. And just when things were starting to get interesting too!
Apparently the ratings have been down considerably. During its initial broadcast Tara was only pulling in 326,000 people and then when you incorporate all the DVRs, repeats, and other various magic things that TV executives take into account, the number only rises to 1.9 million which apparently isn’t good enough for Showtime.
Well, let’s pour one out for Tara. And one for Alice. And one for T. And one for Buck. Actually, let’s just make a mixed drink and pour it out for her. And one for Brie Larson. It was a fun ride and we still have a few crazy episodes left but let’s remember all the insane times we had together. Tara, you shall be missed.
Source: Variety

I will say this about Tara (the character, not United States of Tara): she may be crazy but she is a good mother. Unlike her mother, who we get for another dose in this episode, Tara works with her children and usually acts in unselfish ways (when she can help it). She’s genuinely trying to to control her problem so she can be there for family. Seeing Tara like this gives me hope that she’ll be able to work through her problems. Of course, after the coda, it’s going to be one hell of a job.
The catalyst for this episode was the return of Tara and Char’s mother. We’ve dealt with her before, but never alone like this. Honestly, whenever she first appeared it felt like Darth Vader was approaching. I know Patton Oswalt has seen enough movies to know how dangerous it is to appear before the Big Bad like that, but he was desperate - he and Char need the money. And the way she looked at the baby? I would’ve been afraid for the child. It was like she wanted to devour it whole. But alas, their plan backfired. Their mom is broke and she used them to see her granddaughter. What a bitch, right? But like she said, they used her, only she got what she wanted.
Best line of the night goes to Oswalt (again) commenting on how many boobies were at the baby store. That’s fairly genius of him. I wish ten-year-old me had been that smart.
‘If you’re not nervous, and it’s not hard, then it’s not worth it.’ - Tara
But then some crazy things happened with Tara this week. Eddie Izzard laid down some hard truths in a way that hasn’t been said before on the show (which would mean that it hadn’t been said before in the world of the show). Tara has had major success with the alters lately. Buck came and took care of some crows, T got her out of a confrontation with her mom, Alice stood up for her. Tara seems pleased with herself, but Hateras isn’t having it. He knows that she is only one person and repeatedly tells her this. “You’re not seven people. You’re just you,” he keeps saying. He keeps telling her that she is the one in charge and SNAP. The Chekov’s rat trap he set off catches a HUGE fucking rat.
Symbolism? Pretty much.
And then we finally get conclusive proof of another alter when Hateras listens to his tape from the session. But the line that was said came when he caught the rat. Did Tara imagine that rat being caught? It could very well be imagined or the tape could come from a different session, doesn’t really matter. What does matter is what was said. The line is repeated from the first episode this season "you will not win." Could it be the sudden noise-slash-death snapped the alter into reality?
Also, let’s learn what we can about this alter from what little she said: “You will not win.” Breaking it down: She says “you” which means she is referring to someone outside of herself. Whether it's Dr. Hateras or Tara, we don’t know. But considering how it came out in the office, I’m going to assume the alter is against Dr. Hateras' help (which also means he is on to something!). Then the alter says “will not.” Obviously this means the alter is going against something but the future tense shows this is an ongoing struggle. The alter is fighting and will continue to fight. If the alter had said “you aren’t winning” it would’ve struck a completely different tone. And an unfortunate Charlie Sheen joke. The final word “win.” This is interesting. Win. It seems to imply that the alter views this as a game, leading me to believe the alter is a younger version. Alice wouldn’t say this is a game. T might, as would Buck, who is very immature. So it seems we have an antagonistic young person who thinks this is all a game. But what’s the game? Since the only thing Tara wants to change is her disorder, could this new alter be the personification of DID? And also, considering the ominous mood that played over the tape recorder, this is an angry young person playing this game. Something very troubling is stirring within Tara. The rest of the season is going to be craaaazy.

DAMN. Two weeks in a row with amazing endings? United States of Tara is killing it. But since I believe in saving the best for last, let’s get the less exciting stuff out of the way first, shall we?
‘This is all your fault and that giant skull of yours.’ - Char
Now the good stuff! I wasn’t expecting much from the episode in terms of Tara towards the beginning. And even in the middle, for that matter. Hell, up to the point where she enters the conference room in her mind, I didn’t see where this was going. Tara takes the easy way out of everything and tries to see if she can get her test for Mean Old Mister Professor Doesn’t Believe In DID Eddie Izzard. He won’t have any of it (as he should) which just stresses Tara out further. Max has enough of it but I’m not quite sure why he snaps at her for taking the test. Maybe he’s just reached his breaking point and the whole school thing set him off. But whatever. That sparks Tara.
And we go into her head. Literally. We’ve seen Tara interacting with the alters more this season and this was a full blown meeting of the minds. Tara finally mans up and tells them flat out that she is in charge, but she does the really smart thing and listens to them. Now, I’m no psychologist, but I’m pretty sure the alters are just extensions of Tara’s personality and desires that manifest themselves in real personalities. By listening to them and hearing what they want from life she’s acknowledging her subconscious and helping her heal herself. It was a powerful scene and I felt proud of her for doing it.
But then we see what really happened. Tara took the test and had a complete melt down in front of everyone. Her hair was akimbo, she mutilated her arms, scribbled on the desk and hundreds of papers. And it seems like Gimme took a big bite out of a pen. Her plea to Dr. Hattarras to help was so heartfelt and pathetic it was gut wrenching. An incredibly emotional scene that was beautifully performed. Izzard combined this look of fascination, incredulity, belief, shock, terror and sympathy all in one look. It seems like he has come around. And to think all it took was one mental breakdown for him to believe.
I almost wish we could see Tara’s breakdown but I’m afraid that the kind of performance that would take would be seen as comedic. Toni Collette is a great actress but I don’t think any sane person could ever hope to portray that. Besides the way they did was so absolutely perfect, I don’t think we even need to see it. Our own mental projection of what might have happened is much worse/crazier than anything the show runners could hope to capture. It was absolutely perfect.
So now that we have Dr. Hattarras on our side it looks like things could get really interesting. We’ve had two weeks of things being thrust upon us, now it seems like we’re going to see the consequences of that. It should be awesome.

S03E03: Now THIS is how you end an episode! Holy shit that was an incredible ending for United States of Tara. You can’t get better than that. It’s so fun to experience an episode like that. Everything was going decently up until that point (and we’ll talk about the ending later but I didn’t want to spoil anything right off the bat) but that last image hit and it was like a punch to the gut. It really reminded me why this show is great and why television is amazing to begin with anyways.
"Roughly translated I will email you from Osaka!" -Kate
But then we have the big news of the episode: Char had a baby! Sure, she had it in the grocery story parking lot while T crashed a car, but still, a baby! Yay! Up until that part (which may be one of my favorite moments of television ever), Char had been going through quite a lot. Interestingly, she didn’t seem to mind Alice when she showed up to help with the baby shower but when Char was at her lowest, it was Tara that came to the rescue. The scene at the grocery store was one of the most well-written bits and if you’re looking for an mature female monologue I suggest you look no further. Usually, Char has some of the weaker stories (except when she’s showing off her bad boob job) but this week provided a really strong arch for her.
While there wasn’t that much going on for moving Tara forward (Eddie Izzard was nowhere to be seen) we did get a little insight into her. Alice said something interesting again about how the alters are now seemingly working with Tara to help her, but this is only when Tara is in a normal state. When she was tired, Buck came roaring out to go look for Bryce (and when he found a black guy? Hilarious!). When she downed a Red Bull, T came running out. What are the alters doing? These are some interesting developments that I’m sure the writers are going to explore further, and if it’s anything like a baby plopping out in the middle of parking lot, oh hell yeah.

Hey, remember when I gushed over 21 Jump Street adding Rob Riggle as its villain? That was fun. Let’s keep the party going! The latest bad guy cast is Dave Franco! He is, obviously, James’ younger brother, but he’s as talented and funny. You might remember him from the really underrated ninth season of Scrubs (seriously, it was so much better than people gave it credit for), Superbad, and Greenberg.
Franco will play the coolest kid in school (of course, he is a Franco after all) who also happens to be a drug dealer. And since Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum’s characters go undercover in the school to bust the dealers, they try to befriend him. Also, I'd be willing to bet at least ten bucks that Brie Larson is his girlfriend.
Fingers crossed for anything resembling this.
Source: Deadline

I wasn’t on board with this whole 21 Jump Street reboot at first. A remake of a 90's TV show with Channing Tatum? Ugh. But then things started moving in the right direction.
Turns out, Jonah Hill originally had the idea (and wrote the script!) and he’ll executive produce with Tatum. I can dig that. Brie Larson is going to occupy the main female role? Hell yeah! And now Rob Riggle is in talks to be the bad guy? Too sweet!
Riggle is probably the best utility comic actor working today. He appears in the best shows and movies and makes every scene he's in better. What hasn’t he had a part in? He’s been in everything from SNL to Arrested Developement to Human Giant to the war in Iraq. Okay, so that last one wasn’t that funny, but it’s still pretty impressive. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are directing the film for Sony Pictures, which plans to release it on March 16th 2012.
Source: Variety

Second episodes are way harder to pull off than first episodes. With initial episodes, whether it be a pilot or the premiere in the eighth season, you have no expectations. Well, you have some expectations, but right out of the gate it’s all set-up for things to come. But second episodes? You’re still setting things up, but you have to keep moving forward and set the rhythm. It’s basically like a giant QWOP game.
But this season, United States of Tara manages to have a fairly good second episode. We’re still getting used to this season, stretching our legs, becoming accustomed to the new surroundings, but we were entertained, nevertheless.
Let’s start with Tara shall we? After all, the show is named after her. This week was her first day of class and this show wouldn’t be considered a comedy if something didn’t go wrong. Right on cue she transitions. (I have a feeling we’ll get more into whether this show is a comedy or a tragedy later this season. I might have a thing or two to say about that.) Considering that she was taking a class on abnormal psychology she transitions to Shoshanna and then Eddie Izzard walks in much to his bemusement. I wish I knew more about psychology and could understand what she was talking about and whether that played into the themes of the show. Alas, my public education has failed me once again. But Izzard was quite venomous in the role and I don’t need no fancy education to see that.
“I think one of us needs to sit down.” - Dr. Hattaras
However, Patton’s story ties into Max’s, who finally got one this week. It seems his season-long campaign will be about becoming part of “The Man.” He sold his company and started working for some large corporate landscaping business (I bet all the kids in the neighborhood are PISSED) and it turns out they don’t have room for Patton. Sad Patton. Again, it was all set-up so I expect to see some sort of payoff here later, though I’m not quite sure what it will be. Or how they’ll manage to do it considering cutting grass is quite literally the second best thing to watching it grow.
Checking off the members of the family leaves us with Marshall who decided to make a movie for his film class. The movie was actually fairly inspired, a little Victorian Tarantino, which felt like something an undergrad with a modest costume budget would attempt. It was a little too polished for a high school class, but it was entertaining so I’ll let it slip. One interesting little bit here was Lionel waxing philosophical on whether he and Marshall were together because of the convenience of being gay in such a small town or because they were actually in love. It was a real and honest discussion that I would imagine many gay teens in small towns have had. Now that is how you tackle being gay in a small town. Take note, Glee.
Anyway, we end with a squabble between T and Kate. T actually slaps Kate, which left me wondering if this could be considered child abuse. Kate didn’t seem to mind, but I imagine that’s because T is so close to being her. They end up embracing after Tara transitions back and Kate makes a plea for not messing up everything they had been working for. Again, it wasn’t a terrible episode but Tara is known for really getting unexpectedly crazy. I hope that happens soon.

Made acting debut as Courtney Enders in Disney Channel Original Movie "Right on Track"

Released debut album Finally Out of P.E.

After recording a few tracks, signed to Casablanca Records

Co-starred with a large cast of teen actors in adventure film "Sleepover"

Acted opposite Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in big screen reboot of "21 Jump Street," based on 1980s Fox series

Featured in the drama "The Spectacular Now"

Played one of the three leads in "Hoot" opposite Logan Lerman and Cody Linley; also co-wrote and performed "Coming Around" for soundtrack

Summary

A striking young actress gifted well beyond her years, Brie Larson cut her professional teeth with television roles on shows like "Raising Dad" (The WB, 2001-02) and "Right on Track" (Disney Channel, 2003) and scored tween-friendly hits by appearing in the feature films "13 Going on 30" (2004), "Sleepover" (2004) and "Hoot" (2006). She made the transition from child star to grown-up actress smoothly, earning acclaim for her turns in such movies as "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010) and "21 Jump Street" (2012) and impressed critics with her nuanced turn as Toni Collette's self-destructive daughter on "The United States of Tara" (Showtime, 2009-2011). Critics dubbed her the "It" girl of SXSW 2013 for her flurry of high-profile projects, particularly her raved-about, star-making lead role in the drama "Short Term 12" (2013), which earned her serious award buzz. One of the rare talents who only improved with age, Brie Larson gave critics and fans ample reason to expect her to reach even greater artistic heights over time.